FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Case # 14NF4905
Date: January 22, 2018
SEX PURCHASER SENTENCED TO 23 YEARS AND FOUR MONTHS IN PRISON FOR ATTEMPTING TO MURDER WOMAN BY STABBING HER IN THE NECK
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A sex purchaser from Buena Park was sentenced to 23 years and four months in state prison for attempting to murder a woman by stabbing her in the neck.
|
Defendant |
Charges |
Sentence |
|
Emmanuel Lara, 26, Buena Park |
Pleaded guilty on Dec. 1, 2018, to the following felony counts:
Sentencing Enhancement
|
23 years and four months in state prison |
Circumstances of the Case
- Prior to November 2014, the defendant met Jane Doe online on a website known for soliciting commercial sex.
- On Nov. 17, 2014, Lara arranged to meet the victim in a motel in Anaheim known for prostitution and sex trafficking.
- The defendant entered Jane Doe’s motel room and stabbed the victim in her neck several times, puncturing her esophagus, before fleeing the scene.
- Jane Doe’s sister contacted Anaheim Police Department (APD), who investigated this case, and the victim was transported to UC Irvine Medical Center.
- APD arrested Lara on Nov. 18, 2014.
Prosecutor: Deputy District Attorney Daniel Varon, Human Trafficking Unit
Proposition 35 and Human Trafficking Awareness Month
Each year, January 11 marks National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, and the entire month of January serves as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Month to increase exposure and raise awareness in honor of human trafficking victims.
Members of the OCHTTF and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) work proactively each day to protect women and minors from falling victim to commercial sexual exploitation. OCHTTF is a partnership between Anaheim Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Costa Mesa Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Irvine Police Department, Newport Beach Police Department, OCDA, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Santa Ana Police Department, and community and non-profit partners.
To read more about California’s anti-human trafficking Proposition 35 and the OCDA’s Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) Unit, please visit www.orangecountyda.org and select Human Trafficking Information from the Media Center drop down menu.